Slope Media Group

A New Kind of Crisis of Confidence

“The selection of a Republican candidate for the presidency of this globalized and expansive empire is — and I mean this seriously — the greatest competition of idiocy and ignorance that has ever been.”
-Fidel Castro
Ladies and gentlemen we have now sunk to a new low. Fidel Castro has now called our presidential candidates ignorant and idiotic.
That aside there is a larger and more interesting societal change that has manifested in our presidential election. A couple of years ago Old Spice Deodorant released a line that they dubbed “Red Zone” marketed at an active man. The kind of man who lived an intense and active life style, he climbed mountains, cut down trees, and all around embodied the rugged masculine man. Several years that same line was rebranded as “Swagger” which marketed the confident man as the ideal. That is not to say he should be effeminate. He should still have the perfectly toned body and a determined masculinity while he should have perfect style with incredibly coiffed hair. Perhaps Old Spice was just reacting to the success that Tag and Axe had with similar campaigns. However this shift is now even more visible in our political candidates. Rick Perry, the traditional rugged man, received initially positive results; however, his manliness was instead seen for what it was: a pitiful veneer that could only pass for leadership in a Texas gubernatorial race. Thus Romney, the coiffed and confident man remained strong though his confidence paled in comparison to that of Newt Gingrich, a man whose ego is trumped only by, well, Trump. Santorum and Paul have fallen by the way side because they choose alternate calling cards to sheer confidence, earnestness and intelligence respectively. With Gingrich sticking around in the polls, parts of the Republican establishment are trying to show the public that Gingrich has confidence but in misplaced policies and half-baked ideas. I am all for a colony on the moon but former speaker Gingrich considers it a pressing issue in the current global climate. With incredible economic and political volatility in all corners of the world I think we have some more important problems to take care of at least for now. So it’s about time to stop being blinded by the veneers of confidence and instead look at the issues themselves.